Export Control

Background

Government agencies have significantly increased their enforcement of export control compliance to include universities and research institutions. Compliance audits by the agencies elevate enforcement visibility. In response, oversight of export-controlled activities is the most important “risk minimization” step that major institutions, including CUNY, are taking.

What are exports?

Exports are defined, principally, in three ways:

  1. Physical shipment of covered items or data1 from the United States to a foreign destination by cargo shipments, hand-carried articles, or courier.
  2. Electronic or digital transmission of any covered items or data1 from the United States to a foreign destination, including email or fax.
  3. Release or disclosure by visual inspections, spoken communications, or computer access to export-controlled items, technology, or technical data (hard or soft copy) to companies not incorporated in the U.S., foreign governments, and international organizations. These companies, governments, and organizations may validly be in the U.S. on temporary student or employment visas, but who are neither U.S. citizens nor Permanent Residents. Such export is deemed to occur upon the foreign national returns to his/her home country.

1 The definition of technical data is as follows: blueprints, plans, diagrams, models, formulae, tables, engineering designs and specifications, manuals and instructions written or recorded on other media or devices such as disk, tape read-only memories; oral communication about any data contained therein.

Compliance with Export Control Regulations

While CUNY is committed to an open teaching and research environment that supports the global benefit of our academic and research endeavors, the university is equally committed to complying with export control regulation concerning the conduct of research. Export control regulations, their impact on CUNY research, and related CUNY policies, procedures, guidance, and forms are available at the CUNY Export Control website.

Enforcement officials endorse the oversight of export-controlled activities at CUNY. Research administration and compliance staff at each CUNY college or school who become aware of any international collaborations or researchers traveling abroad in their respective administration or compliance process must inform the campus Export Control Administrator (ECA). 

Prior to submitting any proposal containing international collaboration or before international travel, the Principal Investigator or traveler will need to complete the CUNY Export Control Preliminary Evaluation Form and submit it to the ECA. This should occur as early in the process as possible to avoid any unnecessary delays. 

The ECA will then evaluate, on a case by case basis, whether a teleconference or in-person travel briefing is required, ensure any necessary screening has taken place, and whether any additional export control evaluation of the scope of work is required.

At CUNY SPH, the ECA is Michele Kiely, Associate Dean for Research. Michele can be reached via email at Michele.kiely@sph.cuny.edu.

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